Alumni News

Panola College Grad Publishes Book to Raise Awareness for Rare Illness

Panola College Grad Publishes Book to Raise Awareness for Rare Illness

December 31, 2012 - When Becky Dunlap graduated from Panola College in 1990, writing
a book seemed like a far-fetched dream. However, after suffering a brain injury in
2008, the Longview native channeled her energy into documenting her story to raise
awareness about an illness that affects 20,000 Americans each year called encephalitis,
inflammation of the brain.

“Since it took me 27 months to get accurately diagnosed, I felt compelled to write
my story in hopes that others may not have to suffer the same long journey for answers,”
said Becky Dunlap Dennis, now a Plano, TX, resident. “Since West Nile hit an epidemic
level this year, this has drawn a lot of attention to my book because the neuro-invasive
type of West Nile is identical to the medical challenges I suffered, such as short-term
memory loss, lack of concentration and aphasia. A lot of people are using the book
to better understand the impact to the patient.”

Dennis’ book, named “Brain Wreck,” climbed to the No. 4 ranking worldwide on Amazon’s
best seller list in ebooks for the medical category within a month of its release.
Many survivors of neurological issues receive too little information and support in
dealing with their changes, leaving them isolated in their newfound experience. Dennis
hopes that her documented experience will help others feel validated and expedite
their recovery from related issues.

“I can vouch for the need to raise awareness about encephalitis,” said Dr. David Witt
of the Diagnostic Clinic of Longview, who has treated encephalitis. “Encephalitis
is often misdiagnosed as stroke, MS, flu or complex migraine. Doctors need to consider
this diagnosis early in the process, especially if caused by the herpes virus, which
most adults carry in their systems. And although uncommon for herpes to break the
blood-brain barrier, it’s one of the few forms of encephalitis that can be treated.
And if those patients don’t receive treatment, 80 percent die within the first week
of onset.”

Encephalitis can be caused by a variety of sources other than herpes or mosquitoes,
however, 2012 marked a spike in mosquito-borne illness, with more than 240 deaths
nationally — about a third of them in Texas. Gregg County saw 13 West Nile neuro-invasive
disease cases and 16 West Nile fever cases.

Encephalitis most commonly produces flu-like symptoms at the onset, such as headache,
fever and fatigue. However, more severe cases can resemble a stroke, producing symptoms
including confusion, hallucination, memory loss, seizure, personality changes and
even coma. A February 2012 report titled “I’m Not the Me I Remember: Fighting Encephalitis”
is available online and documents the ravages of encephalitis.

Since publishing “Brain Wreck,” Dennis is gearing up for speaking engagements to better
inform the public on encephalitis, including its causes, symptoms, treatments and
therapies. Dennis joined the board of directors for Encephalitis Global, Inc. (E Global),
a non-profit organization that raises awareness of the causes and effects of encephalitis,
a year ago. E Global leverages the experience from leading encephalitis experts at
The Mayo Clinic, The Johns Hopkins Encephalitis Center, the California Department
of Public Health, the National Institute for Health and the Encephalitis Society of
Great Britain. It also sponsors a discussion forum on Inspire.com with more than 2,100 members across the globe affected by encephalitis and West Nile.

“Our organization hosts meetings for people affected by the residuals of encephalitis
to help survivors and their loved ones learn new coping mechanisms and therapies that
might improve their recovery,” said Dennis. “We hosted a meeting in Plano in August,
during the peak of the West Nile season, to help those suffering from the cruel nature
of this illness. We were fortunate to have leading medical experts on West Nile speak
at our event and it felt great to know that my survival might help someone else. If
I improve lives through my own experience, then my life has purpose.”

For more information about “Brain Wreck,” visit www.bdbrainwreck.com. The book is available in all formats, including paperback, Kindle and Nook and soon
to be in iTunes.

Panola College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award Certificates and Associate Degrees. Contact the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Panola College.

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